BarakinBerlin

Barak Obama was in Berlin speechifying to 200,000 Germans yesterday. As ever, he was very impressive. However, reviewing this as a European you could be excused for a certain uneasiness in finding Barak in this prominent a position at the center of Germany and our continent.

There have previously been two American Presidents who made outstanding speeches in Berlin since World War 2. The first was the famous John F. Kennedy, identifying himself and America with that city’s plight whilst they lived under the threat of the Soviets. The second great piece of oratory was delivered by Ronald Reagan when he told the Soviet leader, Gorbachav, to “take down that wall;” referring to the Berlin wall, then separating the West from the Eastern, Soviet dominated sector.

The big difference between both of those men and Barak is that they were the President when they delivered those speeches and Barak seems to have overlooked the fact that he is not yet in this position.

There is a man in America called John McCann who stands a very reasonable chance of winning the coming election and Barak Obama seems to have allowed a little triumphalism to creep into his campaign. The last time we saw something similar was when Neil Kinnock was standing for the job of Prime Minister in the UK and made the same mistake, and he immediately went from being hot favorite to loser.

Once again Barak’s public, set piece speech said nothing of substance whatsoever. In fact, other than producing wonderful sound bites you could find them the subject of fun, but when delivered by a master orator they can be spellbinding. What does this mean, “People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time. A new generation must make our mark on history;” or another of his phrases, “Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.”

Wonderful and generalized words, that without specifics attached are exactly like anyone saying, love your family and country, and be kind to everyone. That’s how we all feel until the other guy starts kicking sand in our face. Barak Obama, what do you believe in, and what, precisely are you going to do if you win the reins of power?

Watching Obama and the reaction to him in Europe is a little like watching Beatle mania at its peak in 60’s America. There was talent, a lot of it, and a certain charm and freshness about the Beatles, that have echoes in Barak. However there was little to warrant the wild adulation for the boys from Liverpool and similarly there is not enough known about Barak to justify the hero worship for him.

You can watch and listen to Barak a great deal without obtaining the answer to that old question, “where’s the beef?” It seems obvious that he has led his campaign to the center ground of politics from the left of the left where it started. You can’t blame him for doing this, as anyone wanting to win the Presidency would have to do so. But the specifics of what he’s actually planning for the USA are unknowable from his public utterances.

This is more reminiscent of another British politician, who was determined to win, and who reinvented the public perception of his party to win, his name is Tony Blair, and he transformed the unelectable Labour Party to the unbeatable New Labour Party for an entire decade. This was one of the most remarkable re-branding and marketing jobs in political history. It is hard to believe that the fingerprints of the British political spin-doctors of the Left have not been doing some work behind the scenes with Obama and his team. This is ironic when you consider the fact that Barak’s rise coincides with the simultaneous long-term decline of the British Labour Party under the leadership of Blair’s successor, Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

One thing we learned in the UK with Tony Blair was that after the too idyllic a honeymoon comes the inevitable messy divorce. If Barak’s popularity does sweep him to power in America there will be a glorious opening to his Presidency, to be followed by an equally terrible fall from power when the realization sweeps the nation, he promised more than he could deliver.

The primary reason for Barak Obama being adored in Europe is this; he isn’t George W. Bush. As much as Bush is hated and despised Obama is loved and admired as the new, black JFK. Next Obama will arrive in London, where no doubt the presidential candidate will enrapture another country’s population. Is it possible for a man like Obama to win the election in the US without our discovering how he intends to run that country?